Lower Macungie hopes to hire an expert to present alternatives to coverage by state troopers.

Officials in Lower Macungie have come up with an outline of how they'll go about studying police services, a move meant to consider possible alternatives to state police coverage the township currently receives.

Township commissioners last week approved the wording of a request for proposals that will be used to seek bids from experts interested in doing the study.

The board said it was the first time the township board has taken the step of hiring a professional to study the matter. One resident has taken issue with the wording of the document, saying it "subordinates" the state police.

The township is studying the issue because of previously proposed state legislation that would require many townships to pay the state for police protection if they rely exclusively on state police. Although the latest bill died, officials anticipate it could come up again. One of the more recent proposals would have translated to an annual cost to Lower Macungie of more than $4 million.

Lower Macungie, the third most-populated municipality in the Lehigh Valley with 31,000 people, does not pay a cent of township tax dollars for police services, although residents do effectively pay for police protection by paying state taxes.

Township officials have discussed the possibility of creating a township police force, joining a regional department or contracting with a neighboring municipality's police department rather than rely exclusively on the state.

Among the areas that will be studied are the township's population growth and projected growth, uniform crime reports, state police reports, police activity in similar townships, alternative policing options, the cost of starting up a police force and the projected operational costs.

Resident Larry Schneider said the proposal "positions the Pennsylvania State Police as a subordinated alternative."

"The Pennsylvania State Police should be looked at as a viable option," Schneider said.

Conrad said Schneider's comments were "inflammatory and alarmist," adding that his board has taken a step that no other elected board has taken.

Commissioners said they have been satisfied with the work that state police have done and have previously said that they are not seeking to replace the state police.

But the board said it has an obligation to consider all alternatives and be prepared in case the state begins levying what would amount to a police service tax on the township.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to residents as first class township to provide residents with analysis and an opportunity for them to decide what to do," Commissioner Ron Eichenberg said.

The proposal request was created by the township's appointed public safety commission, which has worked for several months on the proposal.

Scott Forbes, chairman of the commission, said his board took pains to make sure the request was objective and took all relevant factors into account.

Commissioners did not say what their time frame is for completing the study. It was not clear when the board would hire a consultant to conduct the study.

The township has considered the policing issue several times over the past few decades. Each time, township officials determined, based on surveys, that residents did not want to pay for a police department.